Insulated coolers for the storage of beverages and foods are well known in the art. Such coolers are manufactured in a number of different sizes, shapes, and varying thicknesses of insulation. Many today are formed of plastic, but those with metal sides are also known in the art. These coolers are popularly used for camping, boating, sporting events, outdoor concerts, and many other recreational and leisure activities. Leading manufacturers of such coolers include the Coleman Company, Newell Rubbermaid, and Igloo Products Corp.
For many of the activities for which consumers purchase insulated plastic coolers, it is also desirable to bring portable chairs. Portable chairs typically fold up in some manner for convenience of carrying and storage. While traditional folding chairs simply fold flat, a popular type of “camp” chair today consists of a metal frame that folds up into a compact, generally cylindrical form. The seat and back of such chairs is generally formed of fabric stretched across the metal frame. These chairs often are sold with a cylindrically-shaped fabric storage case, which when equipped with a shoulder strap allows the chair to be easily carried over the shoulder of the user.
While carrying one camp chair is relatively simple, the task becomes more difficult when the user wishes to bring a cooler and several camp chairs along for a particular activity. For example, a family picnic may require an adult to carry chairs for the whole family, and also carry the insulated cooler at the same time. It may be seen them that a system easing the burden of carrying these items, which are often desired to be used together, would be highly desirable. The art includes attempts to design coolers and other portable storage devices with built-in storage for flat-folding chairs, such as taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,475,889, 7,963,530, and 6,533,298. Given their popularity, it would be desirable to develop a cooler that includes convenient storage for camp chairs. It would be further desirable to developer a cooler with other features that are particularly adapted to storage and utility for the various sorts of activities to which these coolers are typically applied.
References mentioned in this background section are not admitted to be prior art with respect to the present invention.